An FDIC News story on Marcia's life and 100th birthday celebration in February, 2019 is copied below.
By Sally J. Kearney Office of Communications.
Marcia Carrigan, a trailblazer who served in senior management roles at the FDIC, recently celebrated another major milestone: her 100th birthday.
Reached by phone at her home in Webster Grove, Missouri, Carrigan reflected on her 30-year career. "I loved my time at the FDIC," she said. "It was all interesting."
Carrigan was working for a private-sector company near St. Louis, Missouri, when her identical twin sister Marcella mentioned that the FDIC needed help at a bank that was in trouble. So Carrigan joined the FDIC in the late 1960s as a temporary secretary at a closed bank in Gray Summit, Missouri.
From those modest beginnings followed a successful career in liquidation. "Marcia worked in many locations during the days when we used to set up a permanent liquidation office for every bank closing," recalled Andy Basel, former DRR Assistant Director, now retired. "She was experienced in all areas of the receivership process."
After that initial position, Carrigan did not linger in one place for long. "I lived in New York City; Puerto Rico; New Orleans, Louisiana; the Virgin Islands; Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City, Missouri," she said. Fortunately, she added, "I didn't mind moving."
There were times when Carrigan was on her way to an assignment without knowing how long it would last—days, months, or even years. Unfazed, Carrigan thrived on the adventure. "I enjoyed it," she said.
Carrigan recalled how she and her sister, who worked for a bank, shared a running joke. "We used to say that she worked for the live banks and I worked for the dead ones," she said.
Carrigan soon became known as a capable problem-solver whom others turned to for help. Mitchell Glassman, former DRR Director, now retired, and a long-time colleague, recalled how Carrigan assisted liquidators with their travel vouchers.
"In those days, before computers, it wasn't easy," Glassman said. "You had to know the rules, and your voucher had to be perfectly typed. No mistakes!"
An excellent typist who also knew shorthand, Carrigan would wave struggling liquidators over to her desk. "She would type up a voucher with all the proper acronyms and dollar amounts, and that way the person had a sample," Glassman said. "Everyone always kept the first travel voucher she did for them."
Glassman shared a humorous anecdote from the days when he and Carrigan worked together at a Deposit Insurance National Bank (DINB) in Kansas City. "Marcia was in charge of the DINB, she was thoroughly professional, and she ran a tight ship," he said. As Glassman explained, in addition to the DINB, there was also a receivership at the bank, and a disagreement arose over how much the receivership would pay for its space at the bank location.
"Marcia wanted to make sure that everything was fair and equitable, which included determining how much square footage the bank was using compared with the receivership," Glassman said. So one weekday afternoon, Carrigan and her counterpart—who was in charge of the receivership—went about measuring how much of the bank lobby belonged to the DINB and how much belonged to the receivership. "Seeing these two fearless managers do their best for each of their legal entities was priceless," Glassman said.
Carrigan was not only fair but compassionate. Basel recalled their time together in Puerto Rico. "Marcia was in charge of personnel in our office of approximately 80 employees, mostly local," he said. "Headquarters had sent Marcia there because of her exceptional people skills. Frequently, people would go into her office with their personal problems, and they always left with a smile. She has a unique ability to resolve people's problems. She is the nicest, kindest person anyone ever met."
Carrigan's exceptional people skills also came into play when she became Managing Director of the Omaha Consolidated Office. The agricultural crisis of the 1980s was underway, and a mood of anxiety and fear about the future of the industry prevailed. "Marcia put together an organization that included people who had agricultural backgrounds and who understood collateral, so they could speak the farmers' language and understand their concerns," Glassman recalled. "It was a sensitive situation, and she handled it skillfully."
Gregory Coyle, former Manager of DRR's Government/Public Relations Department in Dallas, now retired, recalled Carrigan's leadership in Omaha. "I worked with Marcia for three years on and off when I was a Special Assistant/ Closing Manager to Carmen Sullivan, the DRR Regional Director in Kansas City," Coyle said. "Marcia led the Omaha Consolidated Office with her head and her heart. The Office went on to produce several great managers whom she had hired and trained, including Jim Monahan, Maryann Monahan, John Urquhart, and Lynn Leffert, to name just a few."
Describing Carrigan as "way ahead of her time," Glassman said, "In the 1970s, when few women were in leadership positions, Marcia moved up the ranks into management and was successful because she was able to draw people to her and because she was enormously dedicated, talented, and cared so much about the people who worked for her."
Carrigan retired on February 28, 1990, at age 71. In the years since, she has remained active and independent. She plays bridge every Wednesday. She drives, but not at night. "Keep going," she advises anyone who wants to follow her example.
And on the evening of December 18, 2018, Carrigan went out to dinner with friends and celebrated a truly remarkable occasion—almost as remarkable as Carrigan herself.